You’ve got your niche, your area of expertise, but how do you pick a topic for your next post that will actually entice your audience to read it?
Here are the steps you’ll need to follow:
1. What is your audience interested in?
Obviously, it will need to be something that interests both you and your readers. It’s easy to know what you, like but what is hot with your audience right now? One way to verify this is to check on how much that topic is currently being searched for. (Hint: Use Google keyword search tools to find search volume.) If no one is already wondering about it, you’re unlikely to garner that interest out of thin air.
2. Has the topic already been written about? NO, then you are good to go.
But if everybody and their mother has already written about it, you might want to reconsider using that topic, or perhaps find another angle that hasn’t been covered yet. As long as you are addressing a current problem faced by your target audience and providing a novel solution, you are on track for garnering readership.
3. Has it already been written about but with room for improvement?
Look into the quality of posts that already exist on the subject. If you’re about to present something that’s not yet been said, in a way that provides greater value than is currently being offered, then you’re all set to write!
4. What if no single blog paints a complete picture of the topic?
If multiple blogs together provide a better picture of what you seek to convey, consider summarizing them into a coherent body of knowledge (of course, giving proper credit to your sources).
5. On the other hand, if others have already nailed it, don’t try to compete.
Pick another topic instead.
Essentially, you need to add value to the ecosystem. You want to make sure that you are speaking directly to your audience’s distinct and current interest, right where it intersects with your particular expertise, and that you are saying something that hasn’t already been said, in a way that adds more value to your audience than what is currently available on the subject.
